ANN ARBOR -- Former Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons was reportedly expelled from the university last month due to a violation of the school's sexual misconduct policy, but the university is not releasing information about the incident, citing privacy laws and school policy.

Gibbons was arrested during a police investigation into a sexual assault complaint in November 2009. He was never charged in the case, and the case is listed as closed. The university's student disciplinary system is separate from the criminal justice system.

The Michigan Daily broke the news Tuesday night, reporting Gibbons was given a letter on Dec. 19 from the school's Office of Student Conflict Resolution informing him that he would be "permanently separated" -- or expelled -- from the university effective Dec. 20.

Since then, Michigan officials have refused to discuss or release information on Gibbons' situation, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), as well as university policy. Michigan spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said this week that the school could not comment on the matter because it "falls under the protection of student records, protection under the FERPA law."

FERPA, at its core, is defined as a federal law "that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education."

Asked Thursday why the university will not comment on this matter, but has in the past offered comment on the academic ineligibility of a student, Michigan associate athletic director for public and media relations Dave Ablauf said it all has to do with individual clearance from the student-athlete in question.

"(We) have to have permission of the student-athlete (to get around the law in those instances)," Ablauf said. "A good example was (former Michigan quarterback Tate Forcier, who was ruled academically ineligible prior to the 2011 Gator Bowl), we got his permission to (discuss that with the media) because we didn't want there to be any other rumors or inaccuracies surrounding his situation.

"And that was to protect the kid. You ask the kid, you lay it all out on the line and you give them all the scenarios and what people could say. But (the student-athlete) is the one who has to make the decision. That's what we've always tried to do. ... It's about them, and at the end of the day, that's why FERPA is there -- to protect them."

Ablauf says Michigan has not received permission from Gibbons in this situation to discuss information surrounding his own personal case.

The university also released a separate statement Wednesday night explaining: "In accordance with the university’s policy of not disclosing details about student disciplinary actions, we will not release the results of any investigation."

University policy and FERPA are two different things.

But according to Kent State University media law professor Mark Goodman's interpretation of FERPA, there's some grey area here -- if Gibbons was indeed expelled for sexual misconduct.

"There have been courts that have said it applies to academic and disciplinary records only, there are other courts that have said it applies to virtually any record that personally identifies an individual student," said Goodman, who is a former director of the Student Press and Law Center. "There is significant debate and disagreement about what, exactly, FERPA applies to. But the one thing that is clear, there are written into the statute several exemptions. Particular kinds of records that are not covered by FERPA.

"(One exemption) is one that specifically exempts (FERPA protection) of records of the outcome of disciplinary proceedings when a student has been found guilty or responsible as a perpetrator of a crime of violence, including sex offenses.

"The law explicitly says that those types of records are not protected by FERPA. As a result, if the university there is claiming that FERPA is its justification as to why it can't release information, and they did in fact find the student responsible for this behavior ... then it is, they're wrong. That's all there is to it. They're just simply wrong."

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit State and local educational officials from having access to student or other records which may be necessary in connection with the audit and evaluation of any federally or State supported education program or in connection with the enforcement of the Federal legal requirements which relate to any such program, subject to the conditions specified in the proviso in paragraph (3).

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit an institution of postsecondary education from disclosing, to an alleged victim of any crime of violence (as that term is defined in section 16 of title 18, United States Code), the results of any disciplinary proceeding conducted by such institution against the alleged perpetrator of such crime with respect to such crime.

Goodman does note, though, that FERPA does not require Michigan to release information on this situation to the public. And if the school is standing behind university policy in accordance with this law, then that is a separate situation.

According to The Daily, Michigan's OSCR signed a letter on Nov. 20 stating that the university's investigation into this matter found "a preponderance of evidence" that Gibbons violated the school's sexual misconduct policy.

Gibbons, per The Daily, did not meet with the board until Dec. 4 to review these findings.

Gibbons played in Michigan's Nov. 23 road loss at Iowa. He did not play in the regular-season finale on Nov. 30 against Ohio State, due to what coach Brady Hoke called a muscle pull. He did not make the trip with the team to the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, due to what Hoke described as a family issue.

Hoke has not been made available to local reporters since the team's loss in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on Dec. 28.

Attempts to reach Gibbons this week, by phone and email, have been unsuccessful.